Thump!
Boom!!!
The sounds of weapons clashing echoed continuously from the depths of the dense forest.
From afar, countless giant dinosaurs scattered and fled in all directions.
For a moment, this forest did resemble Jurassic Park.
Meanwhile, on the high seas...
Gawain and Shiryu walked out of the training field together.
Bare-chested, Gawain gently patted the bruises on his shoulder.
Shiryu helplessly wiped his hair.
"Sir, your Rumble-Rumble Fruit... the voltage should have increased, right?"
The lightning has significantly increased the rate at which it depletes my Armament Haki.
If I hadn't acted quickly enough, my Haki would have crumbled, and my hair...
Why..."
With a soft sigh, Shiryu dipped her head into the shower to wash it.
Then, he pulled his military cap down even lower.
A good thing and a bad thing happened to him at the same time.
The good news is... he's bald!
The bad news is... he didn't get stronger!!!
Seeing Shiryu's dejected look, Gawain shrugged innocently.
"I'll be more careful next time..."
After saying that, Gawain chuckled and patted Shiryu on the shoulder before sitting down at the dining table.
As soon as he sat down, Kalifa set out the cutlery for him and spoke softly to him.
"My lord, according to the nautical charts provided to us by the Mary Geoise, the island we are about to reach is called the Little Garden."
"Oh? It's that island!!!"
As soon as Kalifa finished speaking, Jinbe, who was standing to the side, became excited, his eyes lighting up with great interest.
"The legendary Little Garden, an ancient and wild land almost untouched by any pirates!"
It's said that there are countless... legendary dinosaurs on it!
Tyrannosaurus Rex, Spinosaurus, Triceratops, Thunder Dragon, Brachiosaurus?
Damn it, I'm afraid it'll take me ages to hunt and eat them all, haha!!!
Amidst the laughter, Jinbe simply stopped eating. Having heard such good news, he naturally wanted to run to the sea and have some fun, personally catching two Sea Kings to dance on the ship and entertain everyone!
At the dining table, Gawain rolled his eyes, amused by Jinbe's excited expression.
"As expected of Jinbe, he's really been quite active since he stopped taking on the responsibilities of Fish-Man Island..."
"Ha ha!"
Gawain's words made Zephyr laugh. Zephyr ate the nutritious meal prepared by Kureha while grinning and saying...
"Jinbe Fish-Man is Jinbe?"
Whale Shark Fish-Man!
What kind of fish is a whale shark?
Those creatures are known for their mischief in the sea; they can be anything that comes across them, whether it's a dolphin, a seal, or a walrus or sea lion.
Whale sharks always manage to give them two tails, beating them all into sea lion-like creatures, the kind where they stare at each other with wide eyes!
As everyone knows, whale sharks are notorious for their ruthlessness on the ocean floor. They don't discriminate between the elderly and children; if a whale shark passes by, even a dog will get a slap in its face...
In other words, Jinbe is Whale Shark Fish-Man...
Haha, I'm already quite impressed that this kid is so composed!
As soon as he finished speaking, Zephyr laughed and poured a large bowl of porridge into his mouth.
Immediately afterwards, he slammed the bowl down and roared.
"This stuff is absolutely awful! Damn it, I'll never eat this again, never!!!"
With a harsh remark, Zephyr stormed toward the training field, his anger palpable. Behind him, Ain and Binz exchanged a bitter smile.
"This is the fourteenth time the teacher has said something like this..."
"Ahem, keep your voice down. If Dr. Kureha hears us, we'll get beaten up along with the teacher again..."
Amidst the whispers of Zephyr's two students, Gawain chuckled and took a sip of his drink.
"So whale sharks are actually the most notorious scoundrels in the sea?"
No Jinbe always looks like a super-satiated animal...
After speaking, Gawain put down his wine glass and turned to look at Kalifa.
"Let's get down to business. The Little Garden, is it? Let's stop here for a bit, and have Franky note down the location of the station."
However, the approach to dealing with this island cannot be the same as that for other islands.
The Little Garden possesses a unique and wild environment, and it would be a great pity if that environment were destroyed by too much human activity.
In summary, establishing a train station on the island's edge minimizes the activity area for tourists and passengers. Simultaneously, a planned area is established, utilizing fencing and other methods to delineate the station area as a... human protected zone...
Of course, we can't write it like that on the surface, so let's just call it a natural dinosaur reserve, so that passing passengers don't feel inferior."
Kalifa nodded slightly after hearing Gawain's words.
"I understand, sir. On the one hand, dinosaurs and many other ancient animals pose considerable dangers, and we must prevent future passengers from having too much contact with them."
On the other hand, we cannot make passengers feel that they are the ones being protected.
Therefore, the dinosaur reserve approach is the most appropriate!
"Um."
Gawain nodded, while silently repeating it to himself.
If that island only had dinosaurs, there wouldn't be such a big deal to establish a nature reserve.
But besides dinosaurs, that island was also home to countless ancient viruses.
This is the Taikoo virus, not the Taikoo Li virus. The Taikoo virus kills people, while Taikoo Li is for shopping.
In the original One Piece manga, Nami contracted a very serious illness after walking through the ancient jungle of the Little Garden while wearing a T-shirt.
If they hadn't been so lucky, finding both the Drum Kingdom and the legendary doctor Kureha...
Nami might just send it over directly.
Therefore, Gawain's true purpose was to help future passengers avoid the ancient forest, ferocious beasts, and viruses.
If it were said that two or three out of ten tourists who traveled through Taikoo Island would die of illness.
Then there would be no one on that railway line!
Although Kalifa couldn't see through Gawain's thoughts, she was best at understanding the spirit of things. Soon, she relayed Gawain's arrangements for the Ancient Island to the Black Ice Terrace.
As time passed, it was around 2 p. m.
Gawain and his group finally docked near the Little Garden.
As their ship approached the shore, the people on board could already hear the distant clanging of metal.
As a result, people gradually gathered curiously on the side of the ship, gazing towards the Little Garden island covered in primeval jungle.
From afar, those with only Observation Haki could only see two indistinct figures colliding repeatedly.
As for people like Gawain...
After they saw it, they couldn't help but look at each other.
"Giants, Dorry, and Brogy?!"
Grandpa Rayleigh was the first to frown.
"Back when I traveled this route with Roger, I saw those two fighting endlessly!"
"Now, almost twenty years have passed, and they're still fighting like this?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Rayleigh narrowed his eyes in admiration.
Rayleigh, standing to the side, smiled thoughtfully and said softly.
"Oh, Mr. Rayleigh knows them?"
As giants, their battle cries were truly powerful and resonant; even though I couldn't see them, I could hear their inner voices.
Their battle was devoid of even the slightest hatred; it was like the innocent play of children with pure hearts.
If that's the case, why did they fight for twenty years?
"Twenty years...?"
Behind Yixiao, Kureha, with her arms crossed, shook her head with a pout.
"You really underestimate them, little smile!"
Those two have been fighting on this island since I was young!
"How old am I? Looking at them, they've probably been fighting for over ninety years!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Kureha let out a deep breath.
"By the way, the reason those two got into a fight is actually related to my friend!"
Peony probably knows about this too, right?
That's right, it's that old woman who used to act like a child, Little Bear's mother, haha.
Back then, about ninety years ago, the Giant Warrior Pirates were a real nuisance on the high seas.
Giant pirates from the Giant Kingdom of Elbaf, possessing superhuman physical abilities and long lifespans, could cause the Navy considerable trouble if they really got into trouble!
So, Little Bear, your mom was probably sent to the Drum Kingdom to try and defeat the Giant Warrior Pirates."
At this point, Kureha took a sip of her drink, put down the bottle, and let out a satisfying exhale.
Gion, who was listening intently, was slightly taken aback.
"Sister Kureha, could you please not hide half of the story when you tell it?"
I know about the Giant Warrior Pirates, and I also know about the Blue Ogre and Brogy on the Little Garden.
I even remember that their bounties were 100 million Beli, which was 100 million Beli 97 years ago.
However, whether it's their battle or the Giant Warrior Pirates...
What do these things have to do with your friend?
As she spoke, Gion gave Kureha a puzzled look.
Upon hearing this, Kureha smiled leisurely.
"Little bunny, don't be impatient. You need to be patient to hear the whole story."
After speaking, Kureha remained silent for a moment, displaying a mischievous sense of humor, before softly saying something amidst the Byakugan of the crowd.
"Back then, there was no such thing as a pirate regime with emperors and kings on the high seas."
Back then, although there were legends of Laugh Tale, because no one had actually been to that island for so long, most pirates weren't as eager to go to the New World as they are now.
At that time, the New World and the Grand Line did not have the exaggerated distinction between strong and weak that exists today.
The navy's attempts to block the New World and the Grand Line were never as severe as they are today.
In this environment, the Kingdom of Elbaf, the legendary home of giants, saw the emergence of its first pirate crew.
The Giant Warrior Pirates, a pirate crew composed entirely of giants, significantly boosted the momentum of the pirate faction.
In response, Mary Geoise took certain measures, such as interception and pursuit.
But not everyone can take on a group of giants on the high seas. Those guys possess special combat skills from the Giant Kingdom, the Nation Conqueror!
Although the power of Nation Conqueror varies from person to person, even the weakest Nation Conqueror's power far surpasses the main guns of those warships at the time.
If hundreds of giants were on a ship and simultaneously unleashed their Nation Conqueror abilities...
I was fortunate enough to witness it once; the scale was like hundreds or even thousands of warships firing their main guns simultaneously!
Therefore, simple military action cannot stop the Giant Warrior Pirates' advance.
Of course, the World Government at that time also had powerful figures, such as Kong's teacher Silver Anklet Koven, who was also a monster among monsters.
If they unleash their true power, the Giant Warrior Pirates wouldn't be too much of a problem. But the problem lies in the fact that they are giants, and giants are arguably the most united race in the world!
If humanity, especially the World Government, deploys its strongest forces, they will inevitably face a full-scale backlash from the Giant Kingdom of Elbaf!
Therefore, the World Government at the time abandoned its plan to use force to eliminate the Giant Warrior Pirates.
Instead, the plan for Huairou was brought by my old friend!
At this point, Kureha took out cigarettes and distributed them to everyone, then continued.
"I remember it happened in my mother's hometown."
My mother was in her thirties at the time, and returned home after her second voyage at sea.
Little Bear's mother came to Winter Island, saying she wanted to visit me. Of course, I didn't mind. At that time, we had been drinking together for more than two months.
Immediately afterwards, the Giant Warrior Pirates' ship docked on the shore of Winter Island.
I didn't take them seriously at all. Even if those giants became pirates, they were still simple and honest guys. So, I gave them a warm welcome.
While the old lady was entertaining them, her old friend, Little Bear's mother, stepped forward.
That girl always liked to transform into a child, so she used her childlike innocence to infiltrate the Giant Warrior Pirates.
Immediately afterwards, the two captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates at the time, Dorry and Brogy, each hunted a Sea King.
So, my mother's old friend asked the two giant captains in a childlike tone.
Between the two of you, whose prey is bigger?
Ha ha!!!"
At this point, Kureha burst into laughter, patting the gunwale as she spoke.
"Even I didn't expect that such a trivial matter as the size of the prey would receive such high attention from those two captains."
Then, the two of them had a considerable argument about this issue.
At first, they measured the length of their prey from each other.
Later, after the length of the prey was determined, the shorter prey began to be compared in terms of weight.
The shorter prey happened to be slightly fatter, so in terms of weight, the winner was different.
So they began to compare the patterns of their prey, their sex, their style, and their ferocity.
They were still arguing when they left Winter Island.
Later, my mother heard the news that the Giant Warrior Pirates had disbanded and that the two captains had gone missing.
Of course, after hearing this news, my mother went to check it out herself.
Sure enough, the two of them started fighting on the Little Garden near Winter Island.
Kureha then slapped her forehead hard.
"What is the tradition of the Giants? It's probably just a lot of persistence and competitiveness!"
The little rabbit remembered that their bounty was issued ninety-seven years ago, and the day they went to war was two months after the bounty was issued.
In other words, they did indeed fight on this island for a full ninety-seven years!
As for what the members of the Giant Warrior Pirates thought was the reason for their disappearance...
They started fighting as soon as they left Winter Island, first damaging their ship, and then fighting all the way from the sea to the Little Garden!
And their crew members were beaten and separated by the two captains!!!
At this point, Kureha wore a wry smile.
And the others...
Aside from Gawain, who managed to remain calm, everyone else wore a "Holy crap" expression...
Even the trio of little girls, including Shirahoshi Utavi, were starting to lose their composure.
They weren't very good at swearing, but the look in their eyes at that moment...
Their wide eyes were filled with the same expression that they had something they absolutely had to say!
The current rulers of the seas, the Four Emperors, sit idly on their thrones.
The former ruler of the seas, the Pirate King, although he died on the Navy's Execution Platform, he ushered in the Great Pirate Era and even found the legendary Laugh Tale!
Even earlier, the Rocks Pirates the dominant force at sea.
If it weren't for external pressure and internal discord, and if it weren't for the unprecedented alliance between Marine King Garp and Pirate King Roger...
That would prevent Rocks from having a glorious exit.
Before Rocks, the Giant Warrior Pirates were the most likely to dominate the seas...
Less than two months after receiving their bounty, the size of the two Sea King caused infighting among the captains, scattering the entire pirate crew...
Just how damn crazy is this?
His laughter almost made his invisible eyeballs pop out!